Do You Believe Me Now?
by BadaBingxBadaBoom
Summary: What if Jabob really was Bella's brother? She would have the werewolf gene too. Edward,the new kid in Forks,doesn't get why Bella has to ignore all her old friends. She worries about him, escpecially when a certain bloodsucker takes interest.In a bad way.
1. Chapter 1: Legend Has it

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I really hate long author's notes, so I'll try to be brief.** **I was thinking about this all night one night, then I decided you know what? I'm going to write it. So here it is. This is my first fanfic, but I don't want you to lie to me. I want CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISISM. None of that crap where people tell you your story is bad but don't tell you why. And if you're going to insult my work, the least you can do is use proper grammer and spelling. Oh, and here are the ages of the people:**

**Bella: 17**

**Edward:17**

**Alice:17**

**Jacob:16( I know he's two years younger than Bella in the book, but this is _fanfiction._ My story, my way!)**

**Rosalie:18**

**Emmett:18**

**Jasper:17**

**Embry:16**

**Quil:16**

**Leah:17**

**Seth:14(To be honest, I have no idea how old Seth really is, so I made up an age of my own.)**

**I'll let you know about other people as they come inot the story. Oh, and just to warn you, I probably won't update ergularily, mostly because it takes me forever to write a chapter 'cause I'm really picky. So don't get mad at me if I don't update as often as you want. I will post longer chappies, so that's a plus. Well, hope you like it!**

**{{BBxBB}}**

**Do You Believe Me Now?**

What if Jacob really was Bella's brother? That would mean she has the werewolf gene, too. What happens when she thinks of jeopardizing her pack by telling their secret? A mysterious boy with striking green eyes, an unseen enemy and some great friends work their way through it. All Human, expect for the werewolves. Alice, Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, and Edward are not related. Canon pairings.

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**Chapter one: Legend has it...**

**EPOV**

I looked at the buildings before me; Forks High School. Possibly the smallest school I have ever seen in my entire life. There are only five hundred and some kids here, and that's grades nine to twelve. A deep breath, and then I was on my way to the main office. The secretary, Mrs. Cope, handed me my papers, flushing deeply when our hands touched, and I wandered towards my first class. I was sincerely hoping that Emmett McCarty, a kid I'd met on the weekend, was in that class. First period Calculus would be so much easier if there was someone there to joke around with. I passed the student parking lot again and was pleased to see my silver Volvo didn't stick out too much. A canary yellow Porsche, a glossy red BMW, and a huge Jeep helped it blend in a little more.

There were only a few kids in the classroom when I got there, probably because the bell hadn't rung yet. Finding a desk near the back of the room, I spread my papers out on the desktop and located all my classes: Calculus, which I had already found, English, History, Gym-mandatory all three years, good god,-Biology, and Spanish.

A couple more kids shuffled through the door just as the bell rang, loud and shattering. Some kids who had been sitting on top of the desk moved down into the seat and all the chatter died down as a tall, somewhat balding man entered and set his briefcase down on the desk at the front of the room. Someone slid into the desk next to me and I glanced over. A guy with blonde hair hanging over his blue eyes grinned back at me. He stuck out his hand.

"Jasper Whitlock; you are?" He had a light Southern drawl.

"Edward Masen."I took his hand and shook it. He got a knowing look in his eyes.

"Hey, you've met Emmett right?" I nodded. He smiled, slightly smug. "I thought so. You should sit with Emmett and me at lunch."

"Cool." I decided right then that I liked Jasper. He was so calm and laid back. The complete opposite of Emmett, who was the loudest person I've ever met.

Just then, the teacher, Mr. Varner, started his lecture on the course objectives and Jasper and I turned to face the front.

After class, Jasper and I parted ways, him going to Government and me going to English. The rest of the morning continued in the same order. I found Emmett waiting outside the door for me after History. He clapped me on the back before walking toward the cafeteria. He babbled on about how one of his teachers was unfair to him, and I couldn't help but smile. Emmett is so immature sometimes, but he makes life so much more interesting.

The cafeteria was almost full but I managed to pick out Jasper from the sea of unfamiliar faces. He raised his hand lazily, and Emmett and I made our way over. As we got closer, I noticed the two girls sitting with Jasper; one across and one beside him.

The girl next to him was tiny, to the extreme, and slightly elfish with inky black hair that was styled into crazy spikes. I noticed that her thin hand had Jasper's clasped under the table. She appeared to be excited, bouncing slightly in her seat, staring at us as we approach.

The girl across from Jasper was blond, the picture of beauty with her long, wavy, honey-colored hair coming down her back and angular yet soft features. She glanced at Emmett and I, appeared uninterested, and turned back to staring at the tray of food in front of her.

Emmett slid gracefully, which was very weird considering he was the size of a NFL linebacker, into the seat next to the blond and wound his arm around her shoulders before planting a kiss on her cheek. Her lips twitched upward but she didn't smile.

"Jasper!" the little one nudged him impatiently, looking meaningfully at me, then back to him. Jasper sighed, and then gave me an apologetic look.

"Edward, this is Alice Brandon, my girlfriend. Alice, meet Edward." Alice bounded out of her seat to wrap her arms around me. Her hug was brief, and when she pulled back, she smiled up at me.

"I know we're going to be friends. Wait and see," she stated before returning to her spot next to Jasper and wrapping her hand around his. Alice patted the seat next to her, so I sat down. Emmett spoke up next.

"Calm down Alice. We really don't want you to have an aneurysm," he joked. Little Alice glared at him, looking pretty fierce for someone her size.

The blonde looked up at me. "I'm Rosalie. Rosalie Hale." Her blue eyes met mine and I could see that they weren't cold and icy like her tone. She turned to Emmett and whispered something in his ear. He nodded distractedly. Finally, he nodded to Jasper. Alice didn't miss the exchange.

"What?" she demanded, looking in-between the two boys, complete polar opposites with Emmett's curly dark hair and Jasper's golden locks. Emmett shook his head. She turned to Jasper, a well practiced pout on her face.

"Jazzy?" I had to chuckle at the nickname. "Come on, tell me!" Giving in, Jasper sighed.

"Emmett's planning a party down at First Beach for next weekend, assuming the weather's good." Alice squealed loudly, causing several tables around us to turn and stare. She ignored them.

"Don't tell anyone yet!" Emmett insisted, speaking low so no one would overhear. "It's not final yet. I'm still trying to find out if some of the guys from La Push are coming or not." Alice nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh, of course, totally. My lips are sealed." She mimed locking her lips, and Rosalie snorted at her. "Are you insinuating I can't keep a secret, Rose?" Rosalie rolled her eyes in a _no duh_ gesture. Alice glared at her for a moment. Then, abruptly, her mood shifted and she grinned.

"Well, I guess that's true. It all depends on the secret, of course." I was still confused at all the unfamiliar names, and it was Jasper who noticed.

"La Push is the Quileute reservation about ten miles from Forks. First Beach is the beach there. We usually try to spend a couple weekends there before it gets really cold and snows." Oh. That makes sense.

"You are coming right?" Emmett's eyebrows pulled together, crinkling his forehead. I thought about it for a moment. It would give me a reason to get out of the house, away from my newlywed parents who were getting so mushy it was hard to stand being in a room with them.

"Yeah, I'll come. You said Saturday?" Emmett pumped his fist in the air, shouting a loud "Yes!" and startling the group of sophomores at the next table over. Jasper nodded at me, answering my question.

The bell rang, an often occurrence around here-note the sarcasm-and we all stood to head to our different classes. I found I had Gym with both Jasper and Emmett, so we walked there together, Emmett telling all sorts of crazy stories that made us laugh.

The rest of the day flew by and I soon found myself heading out to my car. I had a surprisingly good day here, despite all the girls who had hit on me already. Emmett had made it a joke, and started counting. I think he made it up to at least fourteen.

The house appeared to be empty when I pulled up the driveway. A note was taped to the door, telling me my parents had gone to the city and wouldn't be back for supper. I was okay with that. I fend for myself fairly well.

There was nothing to do all night, so I flicked on the TV and tried to pay attention to some mindless sitcom. Eventually, I just gave up and instead focused on the upcoming beach trip. There was likely to be a whole new crowd of kids I didn't know, either making it awkward or causing my group of friends to grow. I was hoping for the second, personally. Once it was finally acceptable to go to bed, I crawled beneath my covers. It didn't take long to drift off.

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The next few days were all the same. Meet Jasper in English, have lunch with Emmett, Alice, Rosalie, and Jasper, then walk to gym with Emmett and Jasper.

Friday finally rolled around, and I realized that I was actually excited for Saturday. Emmett had confirmed earlier in the week that his friends from La Push were coming, and that we should invite whoever we want. I wasn't all too sure how many kids form Forks were going, but that wasn't too important. Emmett had promised to pick me up on his way down, mostly because they didn't trust me to be able to find my way to First Beach. That irked me. I was perfectly capable of reading a map, but none of my friends would listen to logic. Eventually, I gave in.

I woke early on Saturday morning and showered slowly, working out all the stress from the school week. I wasn't all that worried about my wardrobe, even though Alice had already made a comment on my 'extreme lack of style'. I threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Emmett must have been waiting, because I heard him honk impatiently from the driveway. I grabbed my raincoat from the peg on my way by. All the weather reports said it was supposed to be sunny today, but come on. Forks has to be the rainiest place on the continent.

The ride down was silent, neither Emmett nor I having much to say. That silence was broken as soon as we got there. Alice kept up a steady stream of chatter as we walked the little ways down the beach to where everyone else was.

Someone had drug several logs over into a circle around a fire pit, but the fire wasn't going yet. There were coolers sitting in a clump, a few open. A couple girls were playing volleyball with a net set up closer to the water. Kids were sitting around, just talking and laughing and having a god time. The five of us claimed a spot and settled in, Rosalie on the ground, leaning against Emmett's legs and Alice cross-legged on the ground in front of us. We mostly just talked about pointless stuff. At one point, my life before moving to Forks was brought up, not all that delicately, by Emmett.

"Why did you move to Forks?" Emmett's definitely known for his bluntness.

I shrugged before answering," My parents got divorced." Surprisingly, no one looked at me with pity, like most people do. I was grateful for that. Alice nodded knowingly.

"I know how you feel. My mom was cheating on my dad, and he found out and dumped her sorry ass onto the curb. It was sad for a while but we got over it." The usually bouncy Alice was replaced with a serious Alice. I gave her a small smile, telling her silently that I understand. She nodded and grinned, her mood suddenly shifting to happy again.

She babbled on mindlessly, but Emmett's attention was trained on the edge of the trees. Rosalie, Jasper and I copied him. Pretty soon, Alice noticed that no one was listening and glared at us. She opened her mouth again, most likely to scold us, but Emmett interrupted her.

"They're here." Alice's jaw dropped.

"Like, they as in _them?_" She stressed the word. Emmett nodded. I kept staring at that spot in the trees. Suddenly, six shadows melted out of the dark forest's edge.

There were four boys and two girls. A tall boy with his glossy black hair loose about his face who looked around my age was in the front, the rest trailing behind in a loose 'V' formation. They all looked alike, except for one; the girl right behind the front boy. She was pale, her skin a light ivory color whereas the others where all a dark russet color. Everyone on the beach had stopped to watch them enter, and now they turned back to whatever it was they were doing. The group split; two boys, one short and beefy, but not even close to Emmett, the other tall and skinny, heading towards the drinks coolers, the russet-colored girl moving towards the volleyball net with a younger boy trailing behind like a lost puppy. The pale girl and long-haired boy stayed together, not going anywhere really. They had their backs to us.

Out of the blue, Alice screamed and launched herself at them. The pale girl turned slightly and grinned. "Bella!"Alice shrieked and jumped onto her back. I stared in disbelief.

Rosalie leaned over and whispered, "That's Isabella Swan. She and Alice are pretty much best friends." That explains it. "Bella doesn't go to school with us; she goes to the one on the reservation." That was surprising.

"But she isn't native, is she?" Rosalie chuckled at my blunt question.

"She's half native. Her mom is white. Bella took after her mom a lot more than her dad, Billy Black. She still has Quileute qualities though. Her eyes are brown, for instance. She has that willowy grace that all the Quileute women have, and the hands. Her hands are thin and delicate. She's lucky." I looked at her again, noticing the fine details that Rosalie had pointed out. Somehow, this Bella had managed to pry Alice off her back and was now talking, or listening, really, to Alice, who was talking faster than I had ever seen her speak before. I watched them both, shocked at how well Bella handled Alice, like she had known her all her life. Then again, she probably has. The two girls laughed, and Alice linked her arm through Bella's, taking her with as she moved towards the drinks. The long-haired boy followed behind. Rosalie had been watching all of this with me, and she now rose, gliding gracefully over to them.

I marvelled at how Rosalie could be jealous of Bella Swan. Sure, Bella was very pretty, but Rosalie was the definition of beauty. Emmett was lucky. The three girls started toward us, the long haired boy following faithfully along, like a puppy. He kept close to Bella, almost like a shadow. I noticed that he kept a hand on her arm, almost as though he was holding her back, restraining her. She didn't seem to mind. His russet brown tone looked so out of place next to her ivory skin.

I wondered idly if they were together. They moved in sync with each other, like they were tied together by a string. It was so natural looking. Then I remembered they were siblings and I shook that thought out of my mind. I was so lost in my thoughts it didn't register that they had all returned and sat down with us. Rosalie had resumed her position leaning on Emmett and Alice sat on the ground with Bella beside her. The boy was hovering beside Bella. Alice was grinning like an idiot and had both of her hands clasped around one of Bella's.

"You've met the guys right Bells?" She sang, looking up at Bella. She blushed, before smiling slightly and nodding. Her smile was genuine and sweet.

"Same old Bella," Emmett laughed making her blush even more. Jasper caught her eye and nodded at her. She smiled politely back.

"So," Alice started. "How was your summer? Anything exciting happen?" She looked expectantly over at Bella who was smiling again, her face turned towards the boy next to her. They both had a smirk on their faces and seemed to be sharing a joke.

"Oh, nothing too interesting," Bella replied. The boy was laughing quietly under his breath. She elbowed him. "Shut up, Jake." He faked hurt and rubbed his arm. Alice giggled under her hand. Rosalie was glaring daggers at Jake, who was calmly staring back, looking smug. Bella smacked his arm again, and he looked down at her. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment and Jake frowned, He raised a dark eyebrow at her and she nodded, barely. No one else seemed to notice their silent exchange.

"Bella, this is Edward. He moved here from Chicago." I looked up at her. Her eyes were warm and inviting, no awkwardness in them at all. I carefully stuck my hand out for her to shake, which she did. A sharp shock vibrated up my arm as soon as our hands touched. Her eyes widened; two pools of chocolate brown with slight golden flecks through them. She dropped her gaze to her lap and released my hand. Jake was staring at us, his eyes flicking back and forth.

The conversations chattered on around me, Bella joining in. I barely noticed. I was too busy watching _her_. The longer I spent with her, the more I could see the subtle beauty that I hadn't noticed before. Like the soft, shiny curls of mahogany hair she had secured in a ponytail down her back, or the way her long eyelashes brushed against her cheekbones when she looked down. Or the tinge of pink that colored her cheeks every time Emmett made her blush.

The other girl that had came with Bella and Jake came to sit with us, though she was careful not to sit too close to Emmett and Rosalie. Introductions were made, where I discovered her name was Leah Clearwater, and the boy who had followed her before was her younger brother, Seth. Jake pointed out the tall and skinny boy as Quil Atera, and the short and beefy boy as Embry Call. They were all close, sitting and joking together around the campfire that had been lit once the sun went down.

"Jacob! Dad said no drinking. How am I supposed to get you home if you get too drunk and pass out?" Bella plucked the can of beer out of Jacob's large hand and dumped it out behind the logs we were sitting on. "Honestly, sometimes you forget to think," she scolded him.

"Jeez Bells, you sound like my mother," he joked and she scowled at him, before turning back to her conversation with Leah. I chuckled. They seemed more like brother and sister in that moment then they had all night.

Emmett pulled the marshmallows he had been roasting out of the fire and held them up. "Want one, Rosie?" Rosalie shook her head, her blond waves swishing back and forth. Emmett moved the poker so it pointed at Alice, who also shook her head, though her hair didn't move because of all the gel holding in her spikes. Leah just glared at him when he looked her way so he turned to Bella.

She didn't hesitate, instead plucking one off the end with an agreeable, 'Sure." Emmett grinned, glad at being successful and threw the other one in his mouth.

"Good." He said once he had swallowed. "At least one girl I know can eat a marshmallow without worrying about the calories." He caught Rosalie's glare and that sent him backtracking. "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just that..." He trailed off. Rosalie's glare never lessened.

"Oh, lighten up Rose. You and I both know he didn't mean it like that. He's Emmett. It was about time he stuck his foot in his big mouth today. I was waiting for it, actually." Rosalie nodded to Alice and leaned over to peck Emmett on the cheek, whispering something in his ear. It was probably an apology, judging by the crazy grin that spread across his face when she moved back. Jasper was smiling at them, and Bella was giggling quietly behind her hand. Alice shook her head at the two. She glanced at me and rolled her eyes, mouthing 'typical' to me.

Bella glanced up at the stars, watching them. Her hand moved towards her pocket absently, where she pulled out a small silver phone. Her eyes never left the sky until she had flipped open her phone. She glanced down, read the screen before nudging Jacob. He looked at the small screen then looked up at her. She cocked an eyebrow at him and he nodded. She snapped the phone shut and slipped it back into her pocket.

"Alice?" The small girl turned to look at Bella. "Jake and I need to get going. The old man's getting a bit impatient. We'll catch up to you later, okay?"Alice nodded her head vigorously, then jumped up and gave Bella a hug. Bella laughed lightly and patted her on the back. When she pulled back, Alice eyed Jacob. He grinned down at her, noticing her scrutinizing. She shrugged and gave him a hug too, although less enthusiastic as before. Emmett wrapped Bella in a huge hug and Rosalie smiled at her from behind Emmett. Jacob, Emmett and Jasper shook hands. Rosalie just scowled venomously at Jacob, but he didn't seem intimidated by it.

Bella shifted, uncomfortable, in front of me. She was chewing on her lip, the gears in her mind turning, deciding what to do. Finally, after deeming it the safest, she stuck out her small hand. I took it. The same electric current startled me, but we both refused to let it show on our faces. I stared into her brown eyes, so full of depth. She stared back, not blinking, for a moment. Then our hands dropped, and she smiled at me.

"Nice meeting you, Edward." She was calm, collected, like nothing had just happened.

"You too, Bella," I was shocked at how even my voice was. I still felt slightly shaken inside, at what I had seen in her eyes, the innocence very alien for any teenage girl. She turned and called out lightly to Leah.

"Are you coming, or are you and Seth going to stay for a while longer."

"Yeah, Leah, do you need us to walk you home in the dark so you don't get scared?" Jacob teased light-heartedly. All the same, Leah scowled at him.

"I'm not scared, Jakey," she mocked. "The scary werewolves aren't going to get me, are they?"

"Werewolves?" Emmett piped up, intrigued by the idea. Everyone at the fire was suddenly wide awake and alert, listening closely.

"Yup," Quil answered. "Legend has it, that the forest surrounding the Quileute land is inhabited by werewolves, but they don't call them that anymore. They used to call them the Spirit Warriors, who are here to protect us from the cold ones..." Quil trailed off dramatically, the planes of his face made eerie by the fire casting shadows over them. The air was thickened with expense. Everyone was staring at the kids from La Push, expectantly, waiting for them to continue. The silence stretched on,

Rosalie broke it by snorting incredulously at the look on Emmett's face. "You don't really believe any of that do you?" she questioned him. "It can't be true."She directed at Quil, who just shrugged his shoulders.

"It might be. No one really knows," he said vaguely.

Alice's eyes were wide, unblinking as she stared at him. "Tell us more," she commanded. Quil just shook his head no. "Why not?" she demanded. Quil turned to look her straight in the eye.

"They aren't my stories to tell," he said simply.

Alice was fast becoming frustrated at his cryptic answers. "Well, then who's stories are they?"

"The elders tell these stories the best. Them and Sam's gang," Quil's face twisted in disgust. Jacob frowned and his eyebrow's crinkled together. Next to Jacob, Bella groaned and sat back down on the log.

"Now that you've brought _that_ up, we're not going for a while." She dropped her chin into her hands. Emmett was confused, and it showed on his face.

"Huh?" Everyone ignored him.

"La Push has a gang?" Jasper asked, incredulous. Embry nodded.

"They're this little group that follows Sam Ulney around like he's God or something. You never see just one of them, they're always together." Jacob cut in.

"They do whatever he tells them to, all the time. It kind of reminds me of a cult."

"All of the elders think that Sam is so great. According to my grandpa, he's the best thing to happen to La Push since electricity was installed; and he should know, he's old enough to have been there to witness it." Quil chuckled nervously. Silence covered the circle; the only sound was the fire crackling and the waves gently lapping at the shore behind them.

Embry broke it."They've been looking at me funny all week." Jacob turned to him.

"Really? Me too," he whispered. Embry's dark eyes widened at that.

"It's almost as if they expect me to suddenly turn into Superman and go save the world." Jacob nodded at him. After a moment of thinking, Embry tuned to Jake, scared.

"You don't think they think we're going to join their club, do you?"

"I hope not," Jacob answered. Bella was sitting stick-straight, staring at the two boys.

"We won't let that happen." The two turned at her voice.

"How are you going to do that?" Embry asked nervously. Bella hesitated, thinking. Jacob never gave her the chance to answer.

"Remember Jared?" he asked. "He hated Sam's guts, and then he disappeared for a week from school and when he came back, he was one of Sam's lackeys, singing Sam's praises. Just like the rest of them." His voice was accusatory, and sent Bella to the defensive.

"We both know that you're too hard-headed to let Sam get to you. He would have a hard time convincing you of something if you didn't want to hear it," she shot back. The two stared each other down, both refusing to look away and lose.

"Likewise, big sister," Jacob grinned suddenly and reached out to ruffle her hair. She shrieked and ducked batting his hand from the air but missing. The mood around the fire shifted suddenly, turning happy and joking.

"He's got a fair point there Bells," Quil teased. "You've got to be one of the most stubborn people I know." Bella crossed her arms over her chest and glared at both boys.

"There's nothing bad about standing up for your views," she challenged them.

"There is when you're wrong," Jacob told her. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh, shut up. I'm usually right! Besides, we'd better get going before Billy sends a search party out for us." She stood and waited for Jacob to do the same.

"Yeah, usually," he muttered under his breath. And then he said louder," With our luck, it would probably be Sam he calls too."

"Yet another reason to _go home_," she stressed the last two words. He held up his hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright, get it. You want to go. "Bella threw her hands up in the air.

"Finally!" They waved as they left, calling out promises to hang out during the week, then they were gone. Leah and Seth left next, with the excuse of Seth's bedtime, but I suspected part of was that they weren't as close with any of the others. Quil and Embry went with Leah, so that left just Rosalie and Alice and Jasper, who all left quickly after, and Emmett and I. We put out the fire and buried the ashes, and then Emmett drove me home. I collapsed onto my bed and willed my eyes to close, but when they did, all I could see was Bella Swan, laughing around the fire. I fell asleep like that.


	2. Chapter 2: Screw Off?

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AUTHORS NOTE: Hey all! Hope you had a good holiday. I did, sort of. Oh, well, whatever. Okay, I was so surprised when I finished this chapter so quick. The ideas just flowed through my fingers. It was

_**amazing.**_** Yeah. I realized AFTER I'd posted the last chapter that A) I forgot to title it, and B) I didn't put in a disclaimer. So, I'm very sorry about that Stephanie Meyer. I don't mean any harm, really. And speaking of disclaimers, I'm going to put one in now before I forget.**

**DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I do not own Twilight, or any of Twilight's characters. If I did, I think I might just cry out of happiness. Kudos to you, Stephanie Meyer, for thinking so out-of the-box-like.**

**Love the people who did that ALERT thing with my story. Way to boost a girl's confidence! Kisses to you.**

**Enjoy the chappie, **

**{{BBxBB}}**

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**Chapter Two: Screw Off?**

**BPOV**

Jacob and I managed to stumble home, and we crashed in the door, still laughing as hard as we had all the way back to our home sweet home. Our raucous laughter was cut short though, at the sight of Billy Black, in all his glory, sitting in his wheelchair by the kitchen door and glaring at us with all his might.

Beside me, Jacob lowered his head and his long, glossy black hair fell, covering his face. I carefully composed my face, and tried to look innocent. I don't think it worked all that well.

"Where were you two?"He demanded. "I texted Bella over _two hours ago_, telling you to get home, and yet you don't show up until two hours later?"Jacob shifted guiltily, not quite meeting Billy's eyes. He looked pained, and I knew he felt bad for upsetting Billy. I couldn't quite bring myself to call him dad, even though I knew it would make him happy. I had grown up without a dad, so it would feel weird if I just started calling a man I hardly knew 'dad'. Looking at Jacob's face, I got one of those crazy impulses that usually end badly for me, but I didn't care.

"It was my fault, sorry." Jacob's eyes snapped up to meet mine. "I got talking with Alice and I guess I lost track of time. Sorry," I said again. Billy was staring intensely at me. I had to focus very hard to keep my gaze up and steady, so he wouldn't know I was lying. I'm a terrible liar, and I was waiting, counting the seconds before he screamed 'Faker!' to my face, but it never came. Instead, he just sighed, and slumped down into his chair a bit.

"Well, next time you could let me know you're going to be late. So I don't worry," he mumbled.

"No problem Dad." Jacob's voice was slightly hoarse, and he sounded nervous but Billy didn't seem to notice. He turned his chair and headed into the living room, probably to catch the end of whatever game was on tonight. I generally tune out when he and Jacob start on sports.

Jake and I stood still, watching Billy as he made his way to the TV, making completely sure he was out of earshot before relaxing. Jacob tucked one side of his long hair back behind his ear and looked down at me gratefully.

"Thanks," he breathed. I nodded, the corners of my mouth tugging upwards. I headed towards the kitchen with him trailing behind. He cut in front of me and beat me to the fridge, pulling out two Cokes. He handed one to me and popped the top as I wiped the sweat off the outside of the can.

"Do you think he bought it?" I unconsciously lowered my voice to a whisper, just in case Billy was listening in on us. Jacob glanced quickly toward the living room then back at me.

"Oh, yeah," he assured me. I wasn't nearly as confident in my acting skills as he seemed to be.

I carefully cracked the seal on my Coke, and took a long swig. The acidic liquid burned slightly on the way down, and I realized that I was never going to get to sleep if I chugged the whole thing. I set it down on the counter and studied Jacob.

He was taller, which is funny-I hadn't noticed him growing lately, but somehow he was towering over my own 5"2 frame. His black as coals hair was loose, just brushing his shoulders and his hands seemed far too large for the can he held. His skin was silky, a deep russet color. A color I had always wished I had, if only to blend into the crowds in La Push a little more. I can still remember the first day at school here, and all the kids staring at me like I had three heads and blue skin. I wanted so badly to just sink into the floor and avoid all the questions of why I was there and not going to Forks high. As soon as I told them I was Billy's daughter, they seemed to understand. Almost everyone had heard of Billy Black's flighty girlfriend who had his child out of wedlock.

Just my luck.

I sighed, and Jake gave me a weird look. I just waved it off, not really in the mood to talk. The excitement from the fire before had worn off, and all I wanted to do now was curl up in my nice warm bed and sleep. Coke forgotten completely on the counter, I started to move into the hallway.

An arm caught me around the middle, and I looked up into a pair of dark eyes scrutinizing me.

"I'm just going to bed." Jake raised an eyebrow at me. "No, really, Jake, I'm tired. I'm going to bed." He nodded, reluctantly, and released me.

"G'night then." I waved over my shoulder to him as I retreated to my room.

"G'night Jake."

"Bella..." Shuffling, and then a bump. A deep voice muttered a few swears. "God, she sleeps like a rock," a voice whispered quietly. Then I couldn't hear anything, just dead silence.

Suddenly, someone screamed my name right next to my ear. I shrieked and rolled over, effectively dumping myself out of my bed and onto the cold hardwood floor. I lay there, staring up at the ceiling, wondering once again why I had to be cursed with so many coordination problems. Life's so unfair.

A brown face filled my vision, and I found myself looking up at Leah, her dark hair making a curtain around our faces.

"Good," she grinned. "You're up." I scowled at her. My butt was sore, and I was likely to have a bruise there tomorrow. She just smiled wider at my expression. Holding a hand out to help me, she went on.

"Jake called and said he wanted to go swimming down at the cliffs but you weren't up yet. So, naturally, I offered my...services." Just then Jake walked in and, seeing me technically up, smiled.

"Come on Bells, get dressed. We're going swimming!" I pretended to think it over, drawing out the moment to make him sweat a little. I knew that in the end, I was going to agree. I always do. Renee, my mom, used to tell me I was a pushover. Somehow, it never bothered me.

Jake's grin faded. I allowed a small moment of inner triumph, before I said," Only if Leah comes. Oh, and Quil and Embry, too." His grin returned, though it was a shade less bright as before. I wasn't too worried about him; Jacob is one of those people who don't worry about the trivial things for too long. He doesn't brood over things; instead he shines. He's like my own personal sun, helping me day by day to get through my self-imposed torture sentence here in purgatory.

I shooed both Jacob and Leah out of my room before I started rummaging around through my drawers for something to wear swimming. I had left most of my summer-ish clothes back in Phoenix, sure that I wouldn't need them here, in possibly the rainiest town on the continent.

Phoenix.

I still missed it sometimes. I missed the sun, and the long walks Renee and I would take down the beach when one of us was feeling down. I missed seeing the mountains from my window. It made me sad just thinking about it. Of course, life in La Push wasn't so bad. Once people got over the initial shock of my complexion, they were very welcoming. A few of the girls didn't like me, but you can't please everybody.

At least, that's what I tell myself.

Finally, I managed to find and old bikini that I know I've only worn once or twice, and I quickly threw on some shorts and a tank top over it. I thought briefly of a shower, but there was no point. I would shower after swimming, just to get rid of the algae there always seemed to be floating in the water. My dark brown hair went up into a pony, and I grabbed a sweater and a book on my way out of my room.

Leah had made herself home on our butt-ugly, sagging couch and Jake was leaning against the wall munching on an apple.

He straightened when I entered his line of vision. Leah stood, and I was amazed. If I'd ever tried to do that, I would have fallen on my face.

"I have to stop at my place and get my stuff, and then we can head down," she informed me, and I nodded.

"Quil and Embry can't come. Something about being grounded," Jake added. I nodded again. I moved to grab my keys off the hook but Jake's much bigger hand stopped me. I looked up at him, confused.

"I'm driving," he informed me. I frowned. Jacob can't drive; he has no car _to _drive. And there is no way I am ever letting him behind the wheel of my truck. Knowing how he drives, he would probably bring it back in pieces. He noticed my face, and went on. "In _my_ car," he hinted heavily. I was still confused. Jake's car was an old Volkswagen Rabbit he hadn't quite finished fixing yet...

"Oh my gawd, Jake! You finished it?" My brain finally caught on to what he was trying to tell me.

"Yup," he grinned, nodding at me for emphasis. I squealed and wrapped my arms around his waist. He chuckled at my enthusiasm, and then hugged me back. I pulled away and stared up at him.

"Well, let's go!" I encouraged, pulling his hand towards the door. I wanted to see it all put together. The last time I'd ventured out to his garage, the pieces were spread out all over the floor and didn't resemble a car at all. I got halfway out the door before I remembered Leah.

"Leah!" I screamed as loud as I could, and she must've heard me because she stuck her head around the corner. "Come on." I waved for her to follow us, not stopping to see whether she did. I was far too excited to spend time on that; I wanted to Jacob's car _now. _

I was practically running, trying to catch up with Jacob, who had gone on ahead of me, so it wasn't surprising the toe of my shoe caught the edge of something and sent me flying towards the pavement. Luckily, Leah was right behind me and caught a fistful of my shirt, holding me upright. In front of us, Jacob was laughing at me. I blushed furiously, at Leah saving me and because Jacob was laughing.

That only made him laugh harder.

Gritting my teeth, I straightened myself and muttered a quick thanks to Leah, who was trying desperately not to laugh, and strode to Jake's car. I took it slower this time, not really wanting to meet the ground again.

By the time I got there, Jake had composed himself, for the most part, and was grinning impishly at me. Behind him was a car with a large white sheet over it. I stared at it a moment, then looked up at Jacob, impatience most likely displayed all over my face. He grinned.

"Ready?"He asked. I just stared at him, nodding once to show that I was. He reached over, bunched the sheet in his large hands, and pulled it off with a huge flourish. I could only stare.

The little car was nothing special: tiny, red, and in serious need of a paint job. But it was the fact that Jake had spent hours of backbreaking work and tons of money on parts for it that made the thing so special. Leah moved up to stand next to me, examining it like I was.

"It's not much to look at, is it?" she snorted. Jacob looked over at her and punched her lightly on the shoulder.

"I'm still waiting for paint," he explained. I was still standing there, staring like I had never seen a car before. Cautiously, Jake stuck his face into my line of vision, blocking any view I had of the little car. "You okay there Bells?" He sounded worried. I blinked.

"Yeah, I just,-" I couldn't find the words to continue, so I started again. "You made _that?_" My voice was incredulous, and I immediately felt bad. Jake might think that means I doubted his mechanical abilities, so I hastily tacked on, "It was just a pile of scrap metal last time I saw it." He smiled, grinning from ear to ear, and nodded at me.

"Well," I sighed, faking it to throw Jake off. "Let's go!" I smacked him on the arm and threw my stuff into the passenger side. Leah was right after me, crawling into the backseat. Jacob just stood there, a look of utter shock gracing his broad face. He shook his head and lumbered over to the driver side and got in. Then we were gone, speeding down the dirt roads through La Push.

We stopped at Leah's place so she could get her things, and when she came out, she had a little extra cargo with her.

Seth Clearwater sat next to her in the back, bouncing slightly in his seat. He was alternating between staring out the window and throwing admiring glances at Jacob, who never noticed. Leah was sulking, her arms crossed over her chest, glaring out the window. Her parents had made her bring her little brother once they found out where she was going. I didn't mind; Seth was adorable, in that little kid way.

We made it to the cliffs and I noticed immediately the group of kids standing at the top, close to the edge. There were three of them, from what I could see, and they were all standing close to each other. The middle boy suddenly threw himself off the edge and I almost had a heart attack. Then I realized that it was only Sam's gang, and that they did this all the time so there was nothing to worry about. But that thought still didn't quell the rapid, irregular beating of my heart.

We parked next to the tiny path that would take us down the cliffs to the edge of the water, in the place where the currents weren't too strong, so we could swim without getting taken out to sea. Jake immediately threw off his shirt and went charging into the water, splashing everywhere. Seth followed right after, and between the two of them, they managed to soak Leah completely. While they were busy fighting, I laid out my towel and settled myself down for a nice nap, considering I had been woken up to come here.

I had just closed my eyes when a cold wave slapped over my face. I bolted up, gasping for air. Jake was cracking up knees high in the water and Leah was clutching at her sides next to me, the pail now empty of water forgotten on the sand next to her.

I carefully wiped the now soaking hair out of my face, and glared at the two of them. "What is _wrong _with you?" I demanded. Leah immediately straightened, trying to compose her face. Jake, ignoring me completely, kept on laughing, so hard I thought he might pee his pants.

They are definitely not getting me into that water now.

Jacob was still laughing, so I reached over and grabbed one of his forgotten shoes and lobbed it at his head. It hit its mark, smacking into his forehead. Now it was my turn to laugh, though not nearly as hard or as loud as he had been moments ago. Once her recovered, an evil grin crossed his lips.

"Now you've done it," he smirked, before sloshing out of the water towards me. I scrambled up, backing away. For every step he took closer, I had to take two backwards, just to even out the distance. My back foot hit the edge of the trail. There was no way I could get myself up it backwards; I could barely come down it going forwards. Jacob noticed this and grinned bigger. I glared at him, trying to look even a tiny bit intimidating. It mustn't have worked because next thing I knew, I was over his shoulder and heading back towards the lake. The cold, dirty, possibly peed in lake. So, I did the only thing I could think of at the time.

I screamed.

A loud, silence-shattering scream. By the way Jacob flinched, I guessed I must have been right next to his ear. I hoped that his eardrum had been shattered; then I berated myself for that thought. I instantly took it back as soon as he dumped me into the cold water though. I hoped his eardrum was in a million tiny pieces.

Coughing and spluttering, I looked up at him. He was laughing at me, wide shoulders shaking. Then, I got an idea. Moving slowly, so he didn't notice, I shifted my leg so that I could easily knock out his knees before he could react.

"That wasn't nice," I growled up at him, hoping to distract him.

"Neither was throwing a shoe at my head," he retorted.

"Whose idea was it to dump a pail of water on _my_ head?"

"Leah's," he said quickly. I raised my eyebrow at him. "Okay, mine," he admitted. "But you should have seen the look on your face! Priceless." He shook his head, lost in his thoughts. I took that moment to lift my leg and swipe it across the backs of his knees, and then rolled out of the way so he didn't land on me. I got splattered with water droplets when he hit the surface, but I didn't mind. I was already wet; what difference does it make now? Watching him fall, limbs flailing was totally worth it.

His eyes were huge, staring at me, making me laugh harder than I already was. "I didn't think you were capable of a dirty trick like that," he sounded surprised. I snorted at him.

"And why not?" There was an edge to my voice, a warning for him to watch his step here. He ignored it.

"You don't seem like the type of person to play dirty. You're too...sweet, and fragile-looking." I splashed water at his face, which he ducked while sending a wave of his own at me. This quickly turned into an all out war, effortlessly stretching out to include Leah and Seth. After that died down, the boys had gone swimming again, and Leah and I spread out on our backs next to each other a little ways up the shore.

"Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be a guy?" Leah asked me, I'm assuming because I'm the only other person who isn't already a guy around. She turned her head to look at me, gauge my reaction. I thought about it.

"Well, judging by the state of which Jake's clothes are in when its laundry day, I would have to say it must be pretty dirty." Leah laughed, and Seth and Jake, sitting on the other side of Leah, scowled over at us before turning away. "But really, no. I am quite content to be me. Do you?" Leah blushed.

"Well, yeah, but not the way you're thinking!" Her words were rushed. "I just-I wonder how they think."

"That makes sense. Though, in my experience, most guys usually say what they're thinking out loud." That earned me a giggle, and I had to giggle at her, because seeing Leah, headstrong, don't-mess-with-me Leah, giggling like a schoolgirl is funny all on its own. Jake glanced up at us, narrowing his eyes. He must have decided that he didn't like the possibilities of why we were giggling, because came and sat next to me.

"Are you ready to go home?" he asked. I glanced at Leah, and she glanced at me. In unison, we nodded. I gathered my stuff and we all walked back up to the truck.

"So, where are we hanging tonight?" I asked. It was a simple, innocent question, but it had us all thinking the whole ride home. Jake parked by our house, but no one moved to get out.

Leah spoke up. "We should have a movie night." I nodded. Jake looked sceptical.

"That's perfect. I found my copy of _Titanic _this morning and we could watch it. Leonardo DiCaprio is _so_ cute in that movie..." I pretended to swoon, just for Jake's sake. Leah laughed and caught me. I sat up straight and looked over at Jacob, laughing at his expression. His eyes had gone wide and he had paled considerably.

"I'm kidding, Jake." I managed to get out between giggles. He sighed, relaxing.

"What should we watch though?" Jake pulled the keys out of the ignition and hopped out of the tiny car, leaving his question hanging for me and Leah to ponder. I quickly crawled out too, slamming the door shut behind me.

"Not sure." Leah matched her pace with mine as we caught up to Jake.

"Bring on the blood and guts!" I pumped my fist in the air, and Jake stared at me like I had three heads. "What? I have a weird taste in movies, so sue me." I bumped the old wooden door open with my hip and let my bag fall to the ground in the porch. Leah went to the kitchen immediately, looking for a snack and Jacob flopped onto the sagging couch, watching me over the back. I moved around the house, closing all the windows for the day, and checking the answering machine for any messages. Billy had called to tell us he was at Harry Clearwater's for the day, fishing out at the lake.

Contented that everything was good, I sat down next to Jacob, who cocked an eyebrow at me. I didn't have to answer because Leah appeared again, with dozens of bags of chips in her arms. She dumped them ungraciously onto the coffee table in the middle of the room and looked expectantly at us.

"Well? Decided anything?" Jacob and I both shook our heads no. She scowled at us before reaching up and grabbing my arm, dragging me over to the cabinet full of movies. Jacob followed and we scanned the titles.

"I've seen all these a hundred times," I complained ten minutes later.

"We'll rent one then." Leah suggested. I nodded vigorously, looking at Jacob, silently pleading with him to drive us into town. We stared at each other for a minute, and then he caved.

"Kay. But absolutely _no _chick flicks," he stressed. Leah laughed. Seth had left his shirt in Jake's car when we dropped him off earlier, so we drove over to the Clearwater's and left it there for him, and letting Leah's mom know she was staying the night at our place. We spent the ten-minute ride to La Push laughing and singing to songs on the radio. When we got to the convenience store-the only one in La Push- Jake and Leah got out to pick one out, leaving me to call Quil and Embry and invite them over. Both said they couldn't come; Quil was grounded for starting a fight with some guys from the Forks football team and Embry had to study for an Algebra test so he can pass and doesn't get grounded _next _weekend. I had to laugh at him, which got me a few grumbles and choice expletives. Jake and Leah returned with a huge bag of movies, and I swear my eyes almost fell out.

"You don't expect us to watch all of those do you?" I asked, slightly worried that I would get no sleep tonight. Leah laughed and Jacob told me no, but I wasn't sure if I believed them. Jake asked if Quil and Embry were coming and I relayed their excuses to him, making him laugh. Leah made him pull over into the tiny store for junk food, claiming the stuff we had at home was crappy. She disappeared through the doors. A group of boys were hanging out near the entrance, staring our way. It was unsettling. Jake was scowling at them, so I leaned over to him and asked who they were.

"Sam and his disciples," he practically growled. That was the magic word. I looked back at the three boys, more like men judging by their size, and watched the way they never took their eyes away from Jacob and me. I could see what Jake and Embry meant. They seemed to see Jake with interest, and expectancy, like they know he's going to do something to please them.

After about five minutes of this, I had to say it. "That is really creepy. How do you not just go up there and tell them to screw off?" Jake laughed, but it was strained. I could tell he was upset and that instantly made me feel bad. I moved so I could put a hand on his arm, reassuring him. He smiled gratefully down at me. Leah emerged from the store and started across the parking lot to us. When she was almost there, I decided to do something I would never have dreamt of doing. _Ever._ I carefully raised my left hand so that it was facing Sam and the others, making sure they could see it well. I grinned at them, and confusion crossed their faces.

And I flipped them off.

Leah opened the door and crawled in, glancing at Jacob's shocked face and my grinning one. She opened her mouth to ask, but then she caught on. She laughed, snapping Jacob out of his daze. He cranked the gearshift into drive and peeled out. Leah and I both were laughing hysterically, and even Jake was grinning.

"I can't believe you just did that," he chuckled.

"Who would've thought: quiet Bella Swan would be the first person to ever openly defy Sam and them." Leah looked at me. I shook my head in disbelief.

"You mean no one's ever stood up to them before?" Both Jacob and Leah shook their heads no. "That's sad,' I observed. Leah broke into laughter again, and Jake shook his head at me, like I was a bad toddler again. I just smiled sweetly at him. It felt pretty good to know that I was the only person on the Rez with the guts to stand up to Sam Ulney and his buddies.

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	3. Chapter 3: Secret? What Secret?

**Hey y'all!! How do you like it so far? I personally consider this story my baby, and I love it. Of course, I change my mind a lot more often than most people, so that might not always be that way. Hey, I was thinking about doing a Maximum Ride fanfic, but I'm not sure. Do you think I would be able to write Maximum Ride, or would I totally butcher it? I dunno. I also need some ideas if I'm going to write about Max and the gang. That's a request, people, if you didn't notice.**

**It took me _forever _to finish this chappie, so be grateful. It would have been longer if I hadn't chosen to end it where I did.**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns these characters. I wish I did. Maybe if I check eBay...**

**Kisses, **

**{--Inky--}**

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**Chapter Three: Secret? What Secret?**

**EPOV**

The next few weeks passed quickly, and I found myself enjoying Forks more than I thought I would. My parents were still as unaware of me as they had been since their marriage in June, but I didn't mind. It gave me more freedom to hang out and play baseball with the guys and finish homework without interruption.

Most sunny days were spent down at First Beach with the La Push kids. Some days, we would go down in the afternoon and go swimming, and others we would have a bonfire like the first night I went out. Every time Bella and Jacob were there. I learned that Bella had moved here from Phoenix where her mother lives, two years ago, and knew most of the kids in La Push and Forks. Jacob was her half-brother, along with his twin sisters, Rachel and Rebbecca. Her mother had run from Billy once she found out that she was pregnant and, after having Bella, had gotten remarried. That put Bella in almost the same position as me.

"It was too much." She told me one night, while we were all sitting around the campfire at the beach. "They missed each other too much. Renee refused to leave me at home but she was miserable without Phil. So I decided to move here; spend some quality time with Billy." She made air quotes around 'quality time', which made me chuckle.

"Do you regret moving here?" I had asked, curious to see her answer. She never said what I expect her to. She was complicated, complex, and confusing; I was good at reading people, but Bella baffled me every time.

She shook her head, rustling her mahogany curls, and said," No. I made some great friends," she looked over at Emmett and Alice, who were having a marshmallow eating contest, much to Alice's dismay; she was on a diet at the time. "And I got to know Billy, which was cool. Jake was a surprise though. No one bothered to tell me I had a brother." I nodded. "I met some really amazing people." At that, she turned and looked directly into my eyes. I thought I would drown in them; they were so deep and insightful. They suited her perfectly.

We had talked every once in a while after that, keeping up on things, so I was completely shocked when I pulled into the school's parking lot Monday morning a few weeks later to find the school yard overrun with copper-skinned teenagers mingling with the regular students of Forks High. The parking lot was full, and I could see that the teachers had given up part of their lot to accommodate all the extra cars. I drove my Volvo through the rows, looking for a spot big enough for me. I was just coming up to a little red Volkswagen Rabbit when I noticed the doors on it were open, so I slowed down so as not to hit whoever was getting out. A tall boy crawled out of the drivers' side and stood, stretching his long arms out. I was amazed at how he managed to fit himself in the cab of such a small car. He rested his large, brown hands on the roof and looked over to the passenger side, waiting for someone, I assumed. A dark head of curls emerged, with the girl's back to me. She slung her bag over her shoulder and slammed the door viciously, earning her a scolding from the boy. She turned to get out from in-between the rows of cars and I saw her face.

Bella.

She grinned widely, waving her hand at me, dropping her bag in the process. I laughed and grinned back, lifting one hand off the wheel to wave back. I could see the pink spreading across her cheeks from here. Shaking my head, I continued on down the rows, finally securing a spot near to the back corner. I jogged towards the front doors, wanting to be able to talk to Alice and find out what all was going on. Why was Bella here? Doesn't she go to the school on the Quileute reservation? Actually, it looked like the entire student body from the Rez was here. Why?

I couldn't see Alice through the crowds, mostly because the entire town of Forks above the age of twelve was taller than her, but I could see Emmett. I pushed my way towards him. Rosalie was there, of course, hanging onto his arm protectively, and Jasper was a little behind the two, talking with someone. Alice was nowhere in sight. Emmett slapped me on the back once I was near him.

"How did 'ya like the traffic this morning?" I groaned.

"Not at all. What's going on?" I gestured to the clumps of kids that didn't belong on the grassy lawns of Forks High.

"The boiler at the Rez broke down and flooded the basement. We were all relocated here," a soft voice spoke up from behind us. Emmett and I both turned to find Bella coming closer from where she had been standing with Jasper. "They think it will take at least a week for them to fix it, so in the meanwhile we're stuck here taking classes with _you guys_." She made a face, joking around. Emmett's booming laugh echoed across the grounds, making everyone around jump and turn to see what's going on.

"I guess that makes you the new girl, huh?" Jasper draped an arm around her shoulders, and Rosalie cracked a smile. Bella laughed, and nodded once.

"I guess it does."

Emmett's eyes lit up, and he grinned widely, showing his dimples. He spread his heavily muscled arms wide. "Welcome to Forks High, new girl!" he shouted. Bella giggled. People had begun to stare, but none of us cared. I was shocked that Bella didn't though; she was incredibly self-conscious around strangers. I suppose she was used to being stared at though, being La Push's only white native.

We started towards the main doors, Jasper's arm still draped around Bella's shoulders. I tapped him on the arm.

When he turned to me, I asked,"Where's Alice?" Bella leaned forward slightly to listen in.

"Yeah, where is she? I wanted to surprise her this morning." Jasper smiled down at Bella.

"Trust me; you're lucky she didn't see you already. You are going to be in so much crap for not telling her the moment you were told to come here," he stated seriously. Bella frowned, her forehead creasing. Then she moaned.

"Awe, I am, aren't I?" Jasper nodded, and I could see Rosalie shaking her head in front of us.

"Don't worry. She's not going to kill you; she'd miss you too much," I consoled her, and she perked up, smiling brightly back at me.

"That's true. If Alice murdered me, who would she torture on weekends? Rosalie sure as heck doesn't let her get away with half the stuff I do." At this, Rosalie turned around slightly to look at us.

"Damn right I don't. No annoying little pixie is going to tell me how to do my hair." A small smile let us know she just teasing, but at the same time she was dead serious. Bella laughed, and again, several people turned to stare. I noticed they were all guys, and most of their eyes were glazed over. Not in the same way they do when they look at Rose, but still enough to tell me what roads their minds were travelling on.

For some unknown reason that made me a little upset. It was unsettling how much I wanted to smack those thoughts out of their heads. I felt so...protective of Bella.

Strange.

Everyone else had started towards the building, so I jogged to catch up to them. Jasper and Bella were comparing timetables, their heads together looking radically different. Jacob had disappeared and I realized that he hadn't been anywhere near us to start with. That thought shocked me. I had never seen him and Bella separated until now. Alice still hadn't turned up, but I wasn't worried. She was most likely signing us up for another committee that everyone would groan and complain about but still do because nothing was worse than an upset Alice. We proceeded down the hallway together, no one truly thinking about what we were doing. It had become routine. Rosalie was the first to leave, slipping into her classroom as we passed. Next came Jasper and Emmett, who playfully ruffled Bella's hair, earning him a scowl from her before they were pushing each other through the door.

Bella and I were walking side by side now, our arms not quite touching. I could feel the heat of her skin on my cold, bare arm; I had left my jacket at home in my rush to make it to school on time this morning. She seemed content to not talk, and I followed her lead. It wasn't and uncomfortable silence, more like a contented one. I wasn't paying specific attention to her; my eyes were wandering across the walls of the hall ahead of us. I barely noticed her disappear from my peripheral. Her small 'oof!' jolted me out of my reverie, and I turned to find her sitting on the floor, legs splayed out as if she fell. Which I'm willing to bet she had. Her normally big brown eyes were even bigger, and a single curl had slipped loose of her ponytail, falling over her eyes. I chuckled quietly at her, earning me a glare. She crossed her arms over her chest, pouting, and drew in her legs, preparing to stand up. I offered her a hand, but she ignored it completely, pushing off the ground with her hands. Stubborn little thing.

My curiosity got the better of me. "Where's Jacob?" I asked politely. A tiny smile tugged the corners of her lips upward.

"He went to find Quil and Embry. They were down behind one of the far buildings doing something or other. I wasn't about to ask questions." I laughed. It was most likely true.

"Where's your homeroom?"

"Right here, actually. See you Edward." She didn't give me time to say a proper goodbye before she was gone through the doorway and into her classroom. I was left in the hallway, staring at the place where she had disappeared.

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"Are you shitting me?"

"Nope. Not even a little bit." Bella was calm, replaying her apparently embarrassing introduction to her third period English class. Emmet threw his head back and laughed heartily. Even Alice was giggling a little bit.

"So he actually hit on you, in front of the entire class?" Rosalie asked, leaning over the cafeteria's fake-wood tables towards Bella. A smile appeared on Bella's lips and she nodded her head yes. Rosalie sat back, a calculating look in her blue eyes.

"It was pretty funny, actually," Bella recalled, setting her chin in her hand, and resting her elbow on the table.

"You do know what that means, right?" Rose was still thinking hard on something. Bella looked at her, puzzled. "You're officially one of the hottest girls in this school." Bella started to protest, but Alice cut her off.

"Varner only flirts with pretty girls. He flirts with Rosalie, when Emmett's not around, of course. He used to flirt with me, but I very subtly slipped a hint that if he continued to attempt to cop a feel, I was going to shave that little bit of hair off his head. He quit after that." She stopped, looking pensive, remembering the moment. Bella laughed and Jasper chuckled. Emmett was still laughing, whether from Bella's account of third period or from Alice's story, no one could be sure.

Bella threw a glance at Emmett, checking to make sure he wasn't paying too close attention, before she asked Rosalie, "You flirt back, don't you." It sounded more like a statement than a question. Rosalie shrugged her shoulders, in no way ashamed.

"Of course she does. She's Rosalie," I scoffed. Rose shot me a dirty look, and I just smiled angelically back at her.

"It's true," Jasper threw in, not even the least bit scared of his sister's wrath. Whatever she can do to him, he can do back. I'm sure Rosalie realized that, considering that Jasper still had all his hair on his head and his natural color, and his face was marker free.

"What's true?" Emmett cut in, curious, as always. Rosalie shot us all a look, and we tried desperately to pull a good excuse up to tell him. Alice saved us.

"Varner hasn't shaved his peach fuzz in six years and he still can't grow a half-decent moustache." Jasper choked on the water he was drinking, and half of it spilled out onto his chin. Bella patted him on the back helpfully while he hacked and coughed his lungs out.

"Serves you right," Rosalie muttered under her breath, flipping her platinum blond hair over her shoulder. Jasper came up for air and glared at her. Emmett was oblivious to the entire interaction. He had turned back to his food, and was unsuccessfully trying to steal Alice's fries. She wasn't looking at him, but she still managed to smack his large hand away every time he got too close. Eventually, he gave up and contented on eating the already heaping tray he had. Bella had one hand over her mouth, trying to suppress the giggles leaking out of her. She caught my eyes and tilted her head towards where Rosalie and Jasper were locked in a glaring contest, with Emmett sitting opposite them, still oblivious, stuffing his face with any and all food he could find.

"Are they always like this?" She was quiet, but I heard her. A slow grin crept onto my face.

"All day, every day," I replied. And it was true. It was like they didn't know how not to be completely crazy. It had never bothered me. They were entertaining. Bella shook her head, her ponytail swishing back and forth. It never ceased to amaze me how she managed to get all her hair into one pony. Her curls always looked so wild and untamed; it suited her well. They framed her face just right. One would never think that she would find a big enough elastic band to fit all those curls into. But somehow, she managed, wearing her hair up a majority of the days. She once told me it was easier; her hair wasn't in her face that way.

I had wanted to tell her I liked it better down, but I couldn't seem to get the words out. So I just admired from afar on the few days she chose to leave it free, letting the seemingly ever-constant wind play with it.

A loud clatter claimed the attention of our entire table. Jacob had appeared next to Bella's seat, and dropped a stack of large books in front of her. She stared at them, eyes wide, not blinking.

"All of these?" She asked incredulously, her fingers reaching hesitantly upwards to stroke the spine of the top volume. At first I thought I had missed the first part of the conversation, but the perplexed looks on everyone else's faces told me that I hadn't.

"Uh-huh. And there's more still there too. I could only take so many, so I made sure to have the good ones," Jacob replied.

"Thanks Jake. Where's Leah today? I haven't seen her yet," Bella hastily changed the subject, like she didn't want us to clue in on what she and Jacob were discussing.

"Her dad had a heart attack this morning. Her and Seth are both down at the hospital," Jacob said sadly, her eyebrows pulling together in concern for the Clearwater's', even though he and Leah don't get along at all. Bella gasped, her hand flying up to her mouth. She reached down and dug through her messenger bag, which was hanging on her chair, finally pulling out her phone.

"I'm going to call her. Poor Leah..." She stood and started to walk away, towards the doors leading to the courtyard, but she seemed to remember something and turned back.

"Could you take those out to the truck?" she asked, obviously referring to the books still sitting on the table. Jacob started to protest, but she turned innocent, pleading eyes on him. "Please Jake?" He relented, nodding once before gathering up the books and lumbering off, grumbling under his breath. Bella cast an apologetic look over at us.

"Oh, don't worry about it. We don't mind." Alice reassured her. Bella smiled gratefully at her, and hurried out of the room. We all watched her go, waiting until the glass door was completely shut behind her before Rosalie spoke what we were all thinking.

"What were all those massively thick books for?"

Emmet shrugged and returned to his lunch, but he was paying attention. He was just as intrigued as the rest of us. "A little light reading?" he guessed.

Jasper shook his head. "That could never be classified as light reading. Did you see how old some of them were?"

"Yup." Alice nodded her head enthusiastically, her earrings bobbing up and down in a steady rhythm. "They were falling apart at the seams."

"Where do you think she got them?" I asked, my curiosity burning in every word. No one was able to answer that.

"I think the big question is what are they for?" Emmet spoke up and we all turned to look at him startled. He stared back unflinchingly.

"Any guesses?" Jasper glanced around our now silent table.

"We'll think about it in class, which we're going to be late for if we don't get moving now," Alice ordered as she stood, bending quickly to get her purse. Jasper followed suit, and Emmett slung and arm around Rosalie's waist as they walked out the door. I followed behind the two couples, hands in my pockets, shoulders slumped. I couldn't help but wonder what Bella was hiding, and how bad it was that she didn't want us to know. Almost subconsciously, I glanced over at the parking lot, finding Jacob's red Rabbit parked in amongst the rest of the cars. I stared at it a moment, wishing that somehow it would tell me all her secrets, but I soon gave up. I shook my head and jogged to the Biology lab, hoping Banner wouldn't be too hard on me for being late.

**************************

Banner didn't care at all that I was late. He was fussing over the La Push kids in his class, and didn't notice me slip in the door and into my seat. There was a group of black-haired kids gathered at the front of the room, receiving books, seating assignments, and warnings from Mr. Banner. A couple of the girls moved to the back of the room to an empty desk, as did a group of guys. One particular girl got seated next to Tyler Crowley, who flirted shamelessly while Lauren glared at her form a couple seats back.

I was staring out the window, trying desperately to keep my mind off of Bella. I will admit that I was failing miserably at it. Someone set their books down next to me carefully, like they didn't want to disturb me. I didn't bother turning to see who it was, continuing to stare out the window at nothing in particular. After a quiet few moments, I felt the person next to me lean closer.

"What's so interesting out there?" a familiar voice asked. Abruptly, I whipped my head around to meet her eyes, which where shining with amusement.

"You're in this class?" I blurted, not really thinking it through. Bella laughed under her breath.

"Obviously. Why so surprised?" she asked. I shook my head.

"No reason." _I wish you would tell me everything about you so I could understand. _My thoughts were incredibly close to being spoken, but at that moment, Mr. Banner called on Bella for an answer.

"Anaphase," she answered smoothly, not even missing a beat. Several heads turned to look at her incredulously, and she blushed, sinking lower into her seat.

"I don't believe we've met, Ms...?" Banner looked at her, waiting for her to introduce herself.

"Swan," Bella filled in for him. "Isabella Swan." Banner nodded in understanding.

"Ah." His one syllable was enough to know that he had heard about Billy Black's illegitimate child. Bella blushed even redder at that. She raised her hand to her forehead, hiding her face partly from the view of other classmates still staring at her.

Banner set us an assignment, and Bella and I started. She was surprisingly adept at Biology, I couldn't help but notice. I took the liberty of quizzing her while we worked.

Once I ran out of questions about Phoenix and Billy, I asked about what had transpired today at lunch.

"Oh, it was nothing important. Just a little research project Jacob and I are doing," she shrugged it off nonchalantly, but she seemed too tense, like she had something to hide. Her eyes were distant, and she refused to look at me as she stated it. The way she said it told me the topic wasn't open for discussion.

I let it drop for now.

We were silent the rest of the class.

I politely walked Bella out to Jacob's car; the three of us exchanged goodbyes, and I headed to my car. I watched them leave the parking lot, Bella chatting to Jacob about something serious, by the looks on their faces, and I couldn't stop myself form wondering:

_What are you two hiding?_

_

* * *

_

**Who thinks they can guess what all those books were for? If you get it right, I'll give you imaginary cookies...**


End file.
